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“Thank you…”
“You are Morning Ready, Miss Banner.”
I walk out to the balcony, an elevated extension that elegantly wraps around the building. All around us is the forest.
Sitting there on the balcony is Ethan Knight, in a dark navy-blue suit and a deep maroon tie. His glance turns from the papers to me, and his face goes still like a gorgeous sculpture. He then shakes his head as if to come out of some kind of spell.
“You are very… Morning Ready Brooke. Please have a seat.”
The table has been set with a silver tea set and pastries. I take my place at the table across the gorgeous Ethan Knight.
A server comes forward and pours tea for me while another holds the chair as I take my seat.
“You know about Foster Designs?”
“Of course, multinational, I also applied to them when I returned from Hawaii.”
They had kept my samples and never returned them to me. I decide not to mention this now.
“The Foster Design family and we are enemies.”
“That sounds a little old-fashioned,” I say bluntly. “Something out of the 15th century.”
“Unfortunately, some things never end. Our families have been at war with each other for centuries.”
“Yes, our families have been fighting for hundreds of years. They attack our business on every front. You could say that it’s an unending war. They are always looking for their chance. It could be in Rome, Milan, Paris, even…Hawaii.”
“Is that why you were there in Hawaii, when we met?”
“I was there for two reasons. To acquire the most expensive handbag in the world which you saw in my office.”
“And the second reason?” I also want to ask him about the call he got which ended our carefree moments in the whirlpool.
“The second and main reason I was there was due to pineapple harvest.”
“Pineapples?”
“As you know my company is making serious investments in green leather. Leather that comes from natural sources and does not involve any cruelty to animals. One such investment is of course what you are working on.”
“Leather created from cork.”
“And the other investment is in pineapple leaves, from which materials resembling leather can be made. When they harvest pineapples, they burn the leaves which I have been proposing can be used for creating faux leather. I made an excellent deal with the farmers in Hawaii, to sell me the leaves when they harvest their crop. Sadly, the Foster Design people found out. Just to damage our plans, and set us back a few months, Foster Design bought the land and ordered that the farmers burn all the pineapple leaves upon harvest. When we were in the whirlpool, in Hawaii, it was one of my men telling me that the leaves had been put to fire.”
“Oh!”
“Yes, tons of leaves that could have been used to make green leather. When I got there, it was all gone in flames.”
“That is terrible.” I take a sip of the tea and it is soothing.
“So, I am sorry for interrupting our special moment that evening in Hawaii.” He says looking at me with serious consideration. “I want you to understand what my world is like. But please eat something Brooke, you did not even have dinner last night.”
I am trying to absorb his words, what they mean for me, for us. I bite into a cucumber sandwich, and it is absolutely delicious. His face registers a certain sense of calm. I think these were things that were on his chest. I love the peaceful moment, the groomed, incredibly handsome across from me, us having morning tea together, the chirping of birds, the beautiful golden sunlight of the Portuguese sun, the calmness of a serene oak tree forest… and the sound of a helicopter approaching.
Ethan Knight puts down the cup of tea. “Brooke, we are going to meet the enemy.”
THE HELICOPTER
BROOKE
